Star Trek The Game
by millenium-writer
Summary: Space is a dangerous place, and the crew of the starship Voyager has seen more than their fair share, but none on the scale of the conflict they are entering. To a being like Q, life is but a game, and Captain Janeway is his Knight on the galactic board.
1. Chapter 1

"Report!" Captain Janeway thundered over the roar of plasma weapons fire, and the din of overloading relays and exploding consoles.

"Shields are down to eight percent, Captain. They will not hold against another volley." Tuvok brushed a rill of green blood out of his eye that flowed from a long cut travelling down his forehead. Voyager was being torn apart from the overwhelming force of multiple alien warships firing on her at once.

Tapping a command into the small console next to the Captain's chair, Janeway's lips were twisted in a grim frown. "All hands, this is the Captain; abandon ship. Repeat, all hands abandon ship."

"They're firing again."

"Shunt life support to the shields." Chakotay had moved to one of the stations located at the back of the bridge, carefully stepping over the crumpled body of a fallen crew member as he shifted to another station.

"Fire on their bridge." Gripping the armrests of her chair, Captain Janeway grimly held on at the ship bucked around her. Killing the bridge crew would make it a lot easier to destroy the lead vessel.

"Shields at eleven percent." Blinking blood from his eye, Tuvok looked up at the viewscreen, where a trio of alien vessels hung, poised to deliver the final blow. "Still not enough."

There was a flash of bright orange, as waves of plasma bolts lept from the ship's emitters, racing across the void towards Voyager's hull. The wounded Federation ship shook and rattled as multiple bursts of energy struck her amidship, boiling through hull plating like it were ice.

There was a flash of strangly familiar, bright white light, and everything went dark.

-

A voice drifted out of the darkness. "Hello Kathy." A familiar voice. "Is the afterlife much how you expected it?" A familiar patronizing tone too.

Janeway felt herself lazily tumble end over end, slowly rotating to a stop. The familiar weight of one gee pressed down on her boot soles, and she staggered a little before recovering. "Q."

"In the proverbial flesh." Smiling, Q gave a little flourish with one hand. "Surprised?"

Not in the mood for banter, Janeway shot straight to the point. "Q, what did you do with my ship?"

Q's eyebrows rose in mock surprise. "Your ship? Why? Where did you leave it?"

"Q." Janeway's brows lowered as her tone deepened, anger creeping into that single letter that troubled so many across the galaxy.

"You're angry. You're actually angry at me? After all I've done to- for you?" Q put a hand to his chest. "I'm hurt, you wound me deeply Kathy, straight to the-"

"Q!"

"Oh alright, alright." Dropping the act, Q let his arm flop to his side. "It's in a quintillion, trillion, _billion_ subatomic particles right about now."

"..."

"And it's entirely _not_my fault." At Janeway's sceptical look, a bit of hurt crept into his tone. "Really Kathy. Do you think I would do something like that? I know how much you love that little ship and crew of yours."

Frowning, Janeway rubbed her temple. "You're right Q, I'm sorry."

Beaming, Q walked over and draped an arm over Janeway's shoulders. "All is forgiven Kathy, no need to trouble yourself. At least..." An impish smile crept across his lips. "Not over something piddling like that, in our situation now."

One of Janeway's eyes _twitched_. "'Piddling'? My _ship_?" Forgetting for an instant that she had come to think of Q as a reformed galactic pest, she imagined stuffing him into a very small jar with _no air holes_. Petty, yes, but she felt she deserved a petty thought every now and again. Particularly now.

"Now now, Kathy. That is completely unbecoming of you." Snapping his fingers, Janeway was enveloped in a flash of light. "I might have known. He rewrote you. No wonder you lost that little battle." Sighing, Q looked around the void. "Doesn't that call for some sort of penalty?"

Shaking her head, Janeway touched a hand to her brow, feeling disjointed for a moment. In an instant, awareness sprang back, and she looked at Q with wide eyes. "What happened to my crew?"

Q smiled fondly. "Now that's the Kathy I remember." His smile faded. "Unfortunately, they're all dead, for the moment." He held up his hands defensively. "And I can't-"

"Why not?" Feeling more clearheaded than she had in days, Janeway already knew how Q was going to finish that sentence. The constant barrage of battles over the course of a week rolled over her mind, and she winced at how poorly she had fumbled both peaceful negotiations, as well as tactical planning. She had turned into a ruthless warmonger.

"Because it's against the rules of the game." Frowning, Q turned back to face the darkness. "We're waiting on a ruling right now that should go in our favor. He did cheat after all."

"Rules? Game?" Janeway felt lost, as usual. It was rarely ever simple when speaking to Q. "Who's 'he'?"

"One question at a time Kathy."

"Alright, who then."

"P."

"Not right now."

Q chuckled. "I'm glad to see that sparkling wit of yours is intact."

"It's not exactly sparkling at the moment. I assume he's of a similar nature as yourself?" She was referring to the Continuum that Q originated from. It was a safe bet that this P fellow was also a godlike being.

"Right as usual. On to the next question." Frowning at the darkness, Q turned to face her. "The game is simple. We're playing for the fate of the known galaxy, and you little mortals are the playing pieces."

Janeway's expression grew stormy. "This is not a game Q."

"Actually, it is Kathy. And it's a rather important one we can't afford to lose. It might interest you to know that it was my idea to play the game."

"And you actually thought this was a good idea?

"Would you rather we tore the universe apart at the seams with raw power?"

"..."

"That's what I thought. Look at the bright side Kathy, at least this way you have a chance to help."

"Help? How? You expect me to fight an omnipotent being with my bare hands?"

"Ah ah ah. Didn't I say this was a game? Even a pawn can threaten a king, if it's moved to the right place."

"I'm not sure I like being considered a pawn." Thoughts tumbled through her head in a rush. How was this all happening? Why now? What could she possibly offer that nobody else in the known universe couldn't do better?

"Kathy, Kathy, Kathy. You give yourself too little credit." Shaking his head, Q strolled around Janeway in a circle, clasping his hands behind his back. "While the rest of your little Starfleet troupe, and most of that quaint galaxy you call home move like good little pawns, all in a straight line..." Q trailed off for a moment, glancing into the darkness. "You, and mon Capitan Jean-Luc move like knights. You never move in a straight line, it's always an unpredictable twist at the end. Not a single Q in the Continuum ever see it coming."

"Except for you."

"Except for me. And even so, there are times that you clever little knights surprise even me."

"How flattering."

"Kathy, come now. Who else in the universe could I ask to help me?" Q threw his arms out wide, wiggling his fingers expressively. "Kirk, Pike, Archer, Sisko... Bit of a brute though he was... I have the entire depth and breadth of time at these well manicured fingertips. I chose you Kathy, for a reason."

Janeway watched the theatric display, suddenly unsure of how the situation would unfold. "Why me?"

"Because q agreed with me. Best choice; Aunt Kathy." Q beamed down at Janeway, letting his arms drop to his sides again. "Little rascal takes after his old man."

"Q?"

"Yes?"

"No, I mean, Q agreed with you?"

"What? No, not Q, q."

"Q?"

"No no no." Frowning, Q leaned closer, sticking out his lips. "Watch my mouth, q." He moved his lips slowly, in an overly exaggerated manner. "q q q q."

"q?"

"Yes! Exactly. Dear little q, the apple of my eye, and yours too, I suspect." Straightening up, Q puffed out his chest a bit.

"q?" Something clicked in her head. "You mean your son."

"Kathy, you and a great deal of others may not realize it, but proper pronunciation is _very_ important in the Continuum."

"With everyone named Q, I can see how that could become an issue."

"Mmm, yes. One of the main reasons why we choose not to reveal ourselves to mortals."

"Now you're just pulling my leg."

"Can you imagine having a Continuum phonebook? Useless to you, I assure you." Q snapped his fingers, and a large, and very thick yellow book appeared in Janeway's hands. "Go ahead, look me up. You'll never find me."

Staring at the book in mild surprise, Janeway flipped open the book to a random page, and stabbed her finger down. "Here?"

"No, I- let me see that." Q leaned over and stared at the Q Janeway's finger was on. Frowning, he snapped his fingers and the book vanished. "Lucky guess."

"You're kidding."

"Sadly, no. I think I owe someone a drink for that one." Looking away, Q frowned and tapped his foot. "This is taking an irritatingly long time Kathy, much longer than it should have, all things considered. There's no way the rulebook I submitted could take this long to review."

"You what? What sort of rules?"

Again, Q snapped his fingers. This time, the book that appeared was about half the size, in length, width, and thickness.

"_This_is your rulebook?" Janeway stared at it in dismay. It would take her hours to read, let alone memorize.

"Yes, rather wonderful, isn't it?" Looking at Janeway's expression, he smiled reassuringly. "Don't fret so, dear Kathy. It's the book P and myself will be playing by. As a knight, you really have no rules at all to follow."

Janeway frowned at the letter. "No rules? Then how do we play?"

"_We_ play, Kathy, you just move where we tell you to." Q quickly continued. "Oh don't worry, I assure you, I'll be giving you no orders. Or most of my other pieces either. I've learned that mortals move in much more useful directions if you just drop a hint or two."

"And you expect me to simply guess how it's supposed to go?" Janeway frowned. If it was really a game she had to play, and considering the stakes, she wanted to _win_.

"That's my Kathy." Q beamed. "You'll be provided with as much information as you can handle. I'll be relying on you chiefly to win the game. Any other pieces we aquire along the way will fall under your command."

"My command? Q, I'm not sure I-"

"Not to worry Kathy, I have something special in mind to help you out."

"And by special, you mean-"

"He means me." A figure appeared in a flash of light, and threw his arms around Janeway's shoulders.

"q." Startled, Janeway stared for a moment, then lightly patted the junior omnipotent being on the back.

"Hello aunt Kathy. Surprised to see me?" Dropping his arms, q stepped back and flashed Janeway a broad smile.

"Yes, very." Janeway glanced at Q. "I take it you're planning on leaving him with me on Voyager?"

"Well, not Voyager exactly..."

"Q."

"Really, I can't Kathy. It's-"

"Against the rules, I know, I know." Janeway rubbed her temples. These rules were starting to give her a headache, and she didn't even know what they were yet.

"Actually, it's not." Grinning, q bounced on his heels.

"Oh?" Q turned to glare at the darkness for a moment, before turning his full attention on q. "What did you do?"

"Don't shoot me, I'm just the messenger. The ruling is that the last week will be undone, but not all the crew will return to the ship." q held up his hands to forestall any complains the two may have had. "P put in a complaint that aunt Kathy's crew was just too good to keep. I put in a counter complaint, and we're allowed to pick two new members to replace your first officer, and your tactical officer."

"And you accepted that?" Q gave q a disbelieving look.

"Well, yes."

"q." Q's tone dropped as he loomed over his son.

"I wasn't finished yet." Smiling, q pointed at Janeway. "I think aunt Kathy knows what I had in mind. Both q and Q turned to look at Janeway.

Feeling a little on the spot, Janeway thought for a moment. "Any two? No particular time or space was specified?"

"Exactly." q beamed. "I knew you'd realize it."

"But what good does that do us?" Q frowned. "Just because we..." Trailing off, Q glanced between the other two. "There's something I'm missing."

"Some of Starfleet's best and brightest have been gone for years, Q. Think about it."

Frowning, Q did indeed think about it. "Oh." A wicked grin spread over Q's face. "I think I know just how to exploit such a blunder too."

"Uh, Q." A knot of worry formed in Janeway's gut. "I'm not sure that we should consider this lightly. We should thi-"

Snapping his fingers, Q gave Janeway an innocent look. "Think what over?"

Sighing, Janeway closed her eyes and rubbed her temples a few times before looking at Q again. "Q, what did you just do?"

"You said you wanted one of Starfleet's best and brightest. You've got it." Turning, Q pointed his arm with a flourish. Off in the darkness, a shadowy figure appeared. "Kathy, may I introduce your new crewman?"


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry for making all of you wait for this chapter. It wasn't exactly a picnic for me, getting a cold, pinching a nerve in my lower back, and then catching the flu immediately after. Yuck.

-

Snapping his fingers, Q gave Janeway an innocent look. "Think what over?"

Sighing, Janeway closed her eyes and rubbed her temples a few times before looking at Q again. "Q, what did you just do?"

"You said you wanted one of Starfleet's best and brightest. You've got it." Turning, Q pointed his arm with a flourish. Off in the darkness, a shadowy figure appeared. "Kathy, may I introduce your new crewman?"

Stepping out of the darkness was a humanoid dressed a Starfleet uniform Janeway had never seen before; grey across the shoulder, the remainder of the body stark black, the division color for operations on the shirt beneath. He also was unlike any being Janeway had ever seen before, save one. The pearly-grey skin tone, close cropped black hair, and eerie yellow eyes immediately drew a single name to mind, even as he introduced himself.

"Lieutenant Commander Data, assigned to the Starship Enterprise, NCC-1701 E." Staring blankly for a moment, Data blinked. "Why am I standing in a void?" Turning his head this way and that, the android frowned. "I cannot detect a single surface within a twelve kilometer radius." Pausing for a moment, Data turned to look at Captain Janeway. "This is a most semi-adherent situation."

"What?" Janeway blinked, staring at the android. Looking from side to side, she realized that both Q and q had vanished.

"Perhaps that was incorrect wording. I had ment to say gluey."

Staring quietly, Janeway shook her head.

"Gelatinous?"

Again, she shook her head.

"Gooey? Gummy? Viscid? Viscous? Tacky?"

"You mean 'sticky'?"

Data nodded once. "Yes, that was the correct adjective I was searching for. It is a _sticky_ situation."

Clearing her throat, Janeway nodded. "You have no idea... Commander Data, my name is-"

"Captain Kathryn Elizabeth Janeway, born May 20 2328, Bloomington Indiana. Currently Captain of the USS Voyager NCC-74656, Intrepid class, the first ship to ever have a warp nine engine installed. Assumed lost with all hands, later discovered to be stranded in the Delta Quadrant for-"

"Yes, thank you Commander Data." Janeway held up a hand to forestall another verbal barrage of information. Taking a deep breath, she began again. "Commander Data, I'm not quite sure how to tell you this..." She trailed off.

"In my various experiences with humanoids, I find it is best to, 'cut to the chase', Captain."

"Alright." Janeway squared her shoulders. "The entire known galaxy has been recreated for the sole purpose of preventing an omnipotent being from destroying life as we know it. In short, we're to play a cosmic game for the chance to restore everything to normal."

Data blinked. "Perhaps I should not have asked."

Smiling, Janeway walked over, resting a hand on the android's shoulder. "Probably not. At least you have the chance to make a difference Commander. Welcome to the crew."

Nodding, Data's expression did not change. "Thank you Captain. Please feel free to simply call me Data. I suspect we will be working together for some time in this endeavor."

"And on that happy note, we say hello to a dear old friend of mine." A bright, double-flash of white light later, and both Q and q were standing before the two Starfleet officers.

"Q." Data inclined his head a centimeter.

"Hello Data. Allow me to introduce you to my old professor of the humanities." Q swept his arm out in a flourish, directed towards Data. "Professor, my I present my son q, for your viewing pleasure."

q flashed a broad smile at the android. "Hello Professor."

Data nodded in return. "Hello q." A pause. "Q, I was not aware that your species was capable of reproduction."

Q beamed. "As quick as ever. You'll find that there's a wealth of things you aren't aware of in this galaxy."

"Indeed."

Janeway stepped to the side to draw all three into a collective stare of disbelief. "Q's 'professor of the humanities'?"

"Come now dear Kathy, you didn't think I learned to be this charming all on my own, did you?" Making a 'come hither' gesture with one finger, Q spun on his heel, and began walking into the darkness. "Come along everyone. We've got a date with a starship."

Grinning, q hurried after his father. "Come on Aunt Kathy, wait'll you see the job I did fixing your ship."

Pressing a hand to her forehead, Janeway began following the pair, wishing she had a cup of _very_ strong coffee. An instant later, and a small bright flash, and she was swallowing a mouthful too-sweet irish blend.

"Oops. That's right, you take it black."

Another flash, and the rich taste of slightly bitter, dark roast coated Janeway's tongue. Letting out a deeply satisfied sigh of pleasure, she lifted the thermal mug to her lips for another swallow of the heavenly brew.

"Captain." Walking in step with Janeway, Data turned his head to address her. "May I inquire as to how long you have been related to Q? Starfleet records make no mention-" Data cut off as Janeway spewed out a long spray of coffee into the air.

A bright, double-flash of light, and both Starfleet officers were standing in Janeway's ready room.

"Napkin Kathy?"

Giving Q a look, Janeway took the proffered cloth and swabbed her mouth and chin. "Thank you." Taking a breath, she looked around the room for a moment, before striding over and seating herself at her desk. Setting her mug down on it's surface, she took a minute to run her hands over the smooth surface of her desk to reassure herself that it was indeed _her_ Voyager.

"Oh come now Kathy, I know you were raised with better manners than that." Q snapped his fingers, and in a flash of light a coaster appeared beneath Janeway's mug. "Junior did spend considerable effort in fixing the old place up."

"Speaking of q, where is he?" Janeway glanced at Data for a moment, who was busy inspecting the stars outside the window.

"He's off making sure the rules are being held in order before you take your little ship out." Seating himself on the couch, Q threw one leg over the other, resting his arm across his thigh. "Oh do sit down Data, we've got high-level planning to do."

"Yes." Turning, Data seated himself next to Q after receiving a nod of permission from Captain Janeway. "I cannot identify any familiar star clusters from our position, leading me to believe you were indeed telling the truth, we are in another galaxy."

"Not so much another galaxy as a reshuffled one, Mr. Data." Wagging a hand at Janeway, Q lifted his hand in preparation to snap his fingers.

Realizing what he had in mind, Janeway snatched her coffee from the desk just as the omnipotent being snapped his fingers. In an instant, they were sitting in the middle of space, Voyager's protective hull nowhere to be seen. The couch and Janeway's chair were still there, Q had the good sense not to yank them out from underneath everyone, at least.

"As you can see, we've got an interesting little gameboard to play on." The galaxy swirled it's way around them, tiny star systems whirling about their various orbits. "Here's where we are." Q jabbed a finger into the heart of a familiar cluster of stars. "The new core of your Federation, and the majority of your shipyards are gathered there." Q buffed his nails on his shirt. "Junior's idea."

Data quietly examined the layout of the galaxy, rendering everything into his sub-processing memory for future use.

Janeway leaned forward, squinting as she tried to make out the minuscule shapes. A flash of light, and a section of the tiny star system lept out at her. Jerking back in surprise, she quickly realized what had happened. "Thank you Q." Reaching out, she tentatively made a pushing gesture, and the star system shrunk a little. "... Those are automated phaser batteries." Twisting her hand a little, Janeway swept the system across her vision. "A perimeter defense system."

"My idea." Q leaned back on the couch, throwing an arm across it's back. "It wouldn't do to have the king captured at this stage of the game, now would it?"

"Q, the size of these orbital facilities suggests that a high percentage of Starfleet personnel is in attendance." Data finished his examination, turning to look at Q.

"That's right."

"Does that mean you have explained the situation to the admiralty? I highly doubt they would allow you to alter Starfleet's-"

"Oh don't worry your little artificial head Data, the head of Starfleet perfectly understands the situation." Q beamed, clearly proud of himself.

Janeway glanced up from where she had been examining a tiny starship being serviced. It had a very familiar layout, right down to the position of it's nacelles. "Oh?"

"Well of course I understand the situation."

A knot of sudden dread formed in Janeway's gut. "Q."

A bright flash, and Q was suddenly decked out in a uniform similar to Data's, save for the addition of cuffs decorated with rank insignia and a belt bearing the logo of the United Federation of Planets. "Hmm, not sure I like the new color scheme." A flash of light, and the uniform assumed a more red dominant tone, a large letter Q tooled into the metal of the buckle surrounding the logo.

"Q." Janeway's tone dropped.

"Yes Kathy?" Q was looking rather pleased with himself. "Oh, you don't need to call me sir, I'd like to think our relationship transcends rank and formality."

"Q, I do not believe that Starfleet will accept your sudden inclusion into it's ranks."

"Not to worry Mr. Data, you don't have to call me 'Sir' either." Beaming, Q slapped a comradely hand down on the android's shoulder.

"Q, how do you-"

"I'm afraid it's in the rules Kathy." A flash of light, and the rulebook appeared before Janeway's nose, flipping itself open. "Just like in chess, if the king is captured, the game is over."

"And you have positioned yourself as king?" Data tilted his head to the side a fraction.

"Mmm, as has P, I'm afraid." Q glanced down at the star system. "I can't say how he's arranged his pieces, mind you, but I find I prefer to make myself more... Homey."

"And what did you do with the rest of the admiralty?" Janeway returned her attention to the fleetyard, squinting at the tiny starship again. She'd become somewhat used to Q by now, and being mostly aware of the situation at large, she could accept that things were the way they were.

"Oh, I left them where they were. No sense throwing out the baby with the bathwater." Q stood up and paced about the room, or rather, about the star system. "I didn't even have to change anything about your delightful little Starfleet policies either. Did you know you people have a plan for everything?"

"I was not aware that Starfleet had a particular plan of action for situations such as this."

"I highly doubt that anyone planned for you to be playing with the galaxy at large like this Q."

"Oh no, don't make such faces." Q wagged a finger at them. "Allow me to paraphrase; in the event that a being of a higher order has altered the galaxy in any major way, shape, or form, an immediate state of war is to be declared until the situation has been properly delt with." Q paused for a moment. "I suspect that mon Capitan was the one who put that little gem into the books."

"A state of war?" Frowning, Janeway decided that she'd have to look into Starfleet protocol when she got home. She didn't like being surprised.

"That's right." Q dropped down onto the couch again, throwing an arm across it's back. "I don't think anyone can argue that it isn't either."

"Q, are you entirely certain that this entity will indeed 'fight to the end'?" Data tilted his head a fraction, puzzled.

"Dead serious, Data. P won't rest until he's made a mockery of everything the Q continuum stands for, and that includes your little galaxy we look over too." Frowning, Q crossed one leg over the other, lost in thought for the moment.

"Then we'll have to stop him." Gulping down the last of her coffee, Janeway automatically moved to set down her mug on her desk, but stopped. "Q."

"Hmmm? Oh, yes." Snapping his fingers, the three were suddenly back in Voyager.

Setting her coffee on the desk, Janeway stood up, tugging her tunic straight. "It's time to go." Turning, she walked out of her ready room, and onto the bridge. Standing, Data followed her as well, while Q remained sitting where he was. "Mr Data, take your position at Tactical please."

"Aye Captain." Striding across the bridge, Data ignored the astonished stares of the rest of the crewmembers present. Taking his position, he ran his fingers over the control surface, taking in the entire layout at a glance. It only took him a moment to adjust the LCARS system layout of the station to his liking. "Tactical is ready, Captain."

Startled, Harry Kim glanced down at his console. "Ops is ready, Captain." He shot a look over at Data. Who hadn't heard of the Enterprise crew? He was dying to know how the android had crossed the galaxy and where Tuvok had gone to.

"Helm is ready Captain." True to form, Tom Paris hadn't asked a single question once he'd seen the look on Janeway's face. Instead, he'd spun his chair around and checked to make sure Voyager was ready to go into warp at a moment's notice.

"Release docking clamps, Mr. Paris, and take us out of the shipyard, thrusters only." Surveying the bridge for a moment to reassure herself that it was indeed _her_ Voyager, Janeway sat in her chair. "Mr. Kim, hail the station and request a heading."

"Captain?" Harry looked up from his station. "Sensors say we're in the heart of Federation territory."

"I'm aware of Voyager's position Mr. Kim. For now, please get us that heading. I'll explain everything once our new First Officer is aboard."

Tapping a command into his board, Harry frowned. "We're to head to outpost fifty seven, at the edge of the Klingon boarder, to pick up the final addition to our crew." The lines on Harry's forehead deepened as he muttered to himself. "Klingon space?"

"Very well. Mr Paris, set a course for outpost fifty seven, warp eight."

"Aye Captain, warp eight." Tom tapped a few times on his board. Out in space, Voyager turned neatly onto it's side after gliding out of drydock. Gracefully curving around a Oberth class science vessel, and sliding between a pair of automated phaser drones, Tom leveled the ship out. Striking one last command into his board, Voyager's nacelles hummed as they lifted into position, and the ship vanished in a flash of bright light.

-

Well, that's another chapter done. I hope I haven't let any of you down, and I hope you'll forgive me, not only for taking so long to get the last half of the chapter done, but also for yet another cliffhanger. And no, before any of you ask, I am not telling anyone who the new first officer is yet. You'll have to wait.

As always, questions and comments are welcome.


End file.
